"This way please, Miss Joann." The person who met Joann at the elevator was a young woman in her early twenties. Based on her self-introduction earlier, Joann knew this young woman was Lin Kang's personal secretary.
As Joann walked behind her, watching the young woman's very short skirt that barely covered anything continue to hike up her legs with the woman's rhythmic sway of her hips as she strode across the room, Joann could not help the lines between her brows from creasing up.
The view from the back was already so unacceptable, the view from the front was even more amazing. The young woman's thin cotton blouse stretched tout at the front of her chest due to her ample bosom. The top two buttons were left open because she would not have been able to close them even if she wanted to. Joann had a feeling the young woman did not want to. The white lace bra that she was wearing peeked out from the very open and deep neckline.
As a woman, Joann hated to judge other women on the way they were dressed because everyone should be given the freedom to wear whatever they want. One's outfit was a manifestation of one's personality and one should not have to be warned off for expressing themselves through their articles of clothing.
However, when one displayed such obvious purpose of wearing the things that they did like this young woman, Joann could not help herself but frown upon it. It was quite clear to everyone present what the young woman was going for, she was trying to seduce her boss and there were plenty of reasons why Joann disapproved of that.
Number one, her boss, Lin Kang was already a married man! That alone should be enough to stop the young woman from doing what she was doing.
Number two, and this had more to do with Joann's own outlook on things. She felt like a woman should rely on her own hard work and talent to get to the top and not on giving sexual favours. That was how she and many other women got to the top of their game and she resented women who believed only their bodies could get them to places in life. This did a disservice to a whole gender and other women out there who were trying to make a living the honest way.
It was quite obvious that Joann did not have a good impression of Lin Kang's personal secretary who came to welcome her. She was familiar with the kind of secretary the young woman was. The young woman probably did plenty of off-hours work. However, Joann was still clear-minded enough to realize that this kind of behavior go both ways, all parties were at fault, the blame did not rest with the woman alone.
The boss, Lin Kang was also at fault for condoning this kind of dress code at a professional setting. A skeptical part of her even suspected that it was Lin Kang who ordered for this kind of arrangement. In any case, this made Joann glad of two things, one was not going to Xiu Ling with her problem but directly to Lin Kang and two, warning Xiu Ling to be cautious about her husband when they were still on that trip. Based on what she saw, Joann did not think the man was someone her best friend should fully trust and her opinion was not going to change at least not until she got a closer feel of the man.
The young woman knocked on the door and a powerful male voice drifted out from within. "Come in."
The secretary pushed the door open and stepped back to allow Joann to walk into the room. As Joann stepped over the threshold, the young woman closed the door behind her.
Lin Kang's office had a minimalist touch to it. It was as if the place was purposely sparsely decorated so that the visitors' focus could be pulled to the most grabbing feature in the room, the man himself.
Even though the man was not as handsome as some of the famous actors Joann had worked with, she noticed the man had a natural air of confidence and danger about him that added tremendously to his charm. It seemed like the old adage was true, the girls love a bad boy.
"Miss Joanna Fong," Lin Kang began. "Charmed to make your acquaintance." Even though the greeting was said with a smile, it made Joann all tensed up. It felt like she was inside the den of a powerful beast. They both knew he had the power and ability to destroy her but he was going to entertain her demand simply because he felt like it. It was, for Joann, an unsettling feeling to have because it was rare for her to be the weaker party of a power hegemony. She was always the one dominating the interaction because people normally came to her for help but this time, the table had turned.
She could easily see why this was one of the most powerful people in the nation, he had the bearing of one.
"Mr. Lin Kang, the pleasure is all mine," Joann replied cautiously. Her instinct told her this was someone that she needed to watch her back around.
"Please, don't just stand there. Take a seat." Lin Kang was seated at his working table and he waved a hand at the chairs that were opposite from him.
Joann moved to his table, nudged one of the chairs back and slid into the seat. As she sat down, Lin Kang asked, "To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from one of the most famous and celebrated celebrities in this country? Miss Joann, how can I possibly help you?"
Lin Kang's tone sounded like he already knew the answer but he wanted to hear it from Joann anyway. Lin Kang smiled at her and Joann had this feeling like she was about to do a bargain with the devil.